Malagasy Thatcher
Malagasy Thatcher, originally Jennifer Maurice sol Esquire (August 8, 3721 - June 8, 4056), was the founder, Leader and former Chairman of the Conservative Party of Kirlawa, and a former Prime Minister and President of the Republic of Kirlawa (holding those posts both separately and concurrently). She represented the 3rd district of Nuchtmark in the General Assembly, and holds the record for having the longest continued membership of the Party. Malagasy Thatcher has held many posts within her Party since its foundation. She first held the post of Leader solely from 3785 to 3834, then was the concurrent Chairman and Leader from 3834 to 3875. She went to the backbenches for a while before returning to become Chairman from 3882 to 3910, and was reallocated to the position of Leader in 3910. She served as President thrice, and was Prime Minister twice, from 3910 to 3917 and from 3982 to 4036. In July 3916, Malagasy Thatcher became the first Conservative to be the concurrent President of Kirlawa and Prime Minister of Kirlawa, and has helped the Conservatives become the largest Party in the General Assembly for the first time ever. After she was defeated in the January 4056 Presidential elections, Malagasy Thatcher announced that she was stepping down from the role of Leader and resigning from the Party Executive, ending 271 years of continued involvement with the Party. On June 8, 4056, she passed away from "old age", having ended her life extension treatment half a century earlier. Early life and Childhood Not much is known about Malagasy Thatcher in her early days. It was revealed in an autobiography that she was originally named Jennifer Maurice sol Esquire (pronounced ass-kwahI-yea), but she changed it in 3750. Leader of the Conservative Party (3785 - 3834) Malagasy's entrance into the world of politics began with the Intelligentsia Consortium. Many of them were disenchanted with Kirlawan politics and felt the need for a libertarian to liberal conservative political movement. Malagasy Thatcher, who had a great affinity for the free market, was keen on the idea as well. Thus, Malagasy Thatcher, along with several of the Politburo in the Intelligentsia, formed the Conservative and Unionist Party of Kirlawa in April of 3785. The group decided to appoint Thatcher as Leader of the Party, for she, along with Alexander Magnum, curated the structure for the Party. As Leader, should the Conservatives form a government, Malagasy Thatcher would be appointed as Prime Minister. The party won its first seats in a watershed election in January 3787. Malagasy Thatcher won a seat on the party list of Nuchtmark, the 3rd. Nuchtmark was traditionally conservative, where support for the free market was at its strongest, thus it was the perfect launchpad for the Party. The Conservatives rose to become the third largest party in the General Assembly at that time. Approaching 3800, however, Thatcher's age began to show. A bold decision was undertaken, whereby a life-extension process was used to prolong her lifespan indefinitely. This caused a stir in the religious community, who believed it to be an affront to the sanctity of life, and thus her and the Party's popularity in the polls shrunk in the following election. Malagasy Thatcher oversaw the transition of the party from becoming libertarian to a more liberal conservative party, as progressive policies were emphasised and civil liberties championed. She also followed the growing Isolationist movement in the Party, which influenced her governance during the "Twin Reign" period. Alexander Magnum became President twice during this period, in 3790 and again in 3818. It was said that Thatcher grew jealous of this, and sought to become Chairman one day so as to take the mantle of President. Eventually, Alexander Magnum retired from his capacity as Chairman of the Party - he resigned in 3821, and triggered the Party's first Chairman elections. Thatcher opted not to run, as deference to Magnum, who passed away of old age several years later. His son, Alexander Magnum II, would win the elections and succeed him. Thatcher's relationship with Alexander Magnum II was strained. His brand of "Kirlawan Isolationism" and heavy shifts to the right in terms of social policy made Thatcher anxious and once led to a "heated exchange of words, with colourful vocabulary intermittent." Thatcher was worried that his direction of the Party would lead it astray and detract from the original vision of a Conservative but modern party. Her judgement proved prophetic as the Party floundered in the polls, and Alexander Magnum II resigned soon after. Despite such differences, Thatcher nonetheless continued some of his policies, although to a lesser extent than he had. The Twin Reign of Thatcher (3834 - 3875) In the second Chairman elections to be held by the Party, Malagasy Thatcher decided to stand, and decisively won a plurality of the membership's votes. She succeeded to the post of Chairman, and combined with her existing capacity as Leader of the Party, became the first and, to date, only member to be in both posts concurrently. This led to what is often known as the Twin Reign of Thatcher, often shortened to Twin Reign. Malagasy Thatcher moved the party from a populist to a convictionist platform. Her resounding speeches and unwavering beliefs drew support from both inside and out of the Party. She promoted "free-market economics", which included privatisation of large chunks of the state and deregulation of various industries. She also continued on with her predecessor's isolationist and militarist policies, although she moved the Conservatives back from the right to the centre in terms of social policy. Her efforts began to show in the 3838 and 3842 elections, where the Conservative Party won 153 and 181 seats in the General Assembly. The 3842 elections were the best for the Conservatives ever, earning the second largest margin of the popular vote and becoming the largest opposition in the GA. From there, however, the Party's performance was mixed and varied greatly, partly in due to a flux in the political climate from a swathe of new parties entering the scene. A more complacent Malagasy, combined with the overextension of her life, led to a series of severe errors which plagued the Party. In the July 3857 Presidential and General Elections, the electoral commission of Kirlawa decided to revamp its electoral database and required all parties to re-register with them. Thatcher was reminded of this, but had forgot about it in the midst of heated campaigning, and hence the Conservatives failed to contest in any seats for that election. Thatcher subsequently lost her seat in this election - this is the only time that this has occurred to her. The party rebounded quickly during the 3861 elections. However, Thatcher's failure to enforce party discipline led to rampant abstentions in crucial votes and even defections to opposing parties. The party soon fell out of favour with the general public, and vote share slumped to its lowest ever. The Conservatives were soon left with only 19 seats - Thatcher held on, as she was placed at the top. Nonetheless, questions soon surrounded over her ability to govern the Party. As she became more frail, she opted out of Presidential elections from 3861 to 3874. The party initially endorsed another party's candidate, but this process soon stopped. The Conservatives would only again run a candidate with the ascension of Li Guanyao to the post of Chairman. In 3874, Malagasy Thatcher officially stated her intention to retire from both the posts of Chairman and Leader. She abdicated from the former in April of 3875, followed by from the post of Leader in September later that year. The first elections for the post of Leader, and the first dual leadership elections were held. Thatcher was never either Prime Minister nor President of Kirlawa during her 90 years in the Party. Member of the General Assembly (3875 - 3882) Malagasy Thatcher retired to the backbenches where she spent this period largely inactive in the General Assembly. Although she continued to serve her constituents and participated in several committees, her lifespan was waning. She needed to make an important choice: whether she should extend her life once more or accept death. During this period, it was reported that she was largely quiescent, often thinking to herself. Although she had been the Leader of the Party for close to a hundred years, she had never attained the post of either President or Prime Minister of Kirlawa. Nor did she help bring her party to the top of Kirlawa's legislature by securing a plurality or even a majority of seats. Her unfettered resolve to meet those aims, even as her storied life precedes her, meant that she made the bold decision to extend her life once more, up until the 41st century or the year 4000. She undertook this complex operation in 3880. At this point, she was 130 years old, but her "effective age" was reverted to be around 45. Immediately after the operation, she sought to return to the forefront of the Conservative Party. In 3881, she ascended to the role of Shadow Minister for Education. The new Chairman of the Party, Li Guanyao, made the momentous decision to resign from his capacity after only seven years on the job. It was believed that he wants to "wait it out" and only take on the mantle at the party's peak. Rather than go through another leadership process, as was generally the case with the resignation of either the Chairman or the Leader, the General Executive Committee of the Party decided to hand the post back to Malagasy Thatcher and bypass the vote. This was taken to be a recognition of her service in the Party for the past 97 years. There was little controversy over the move, although a leadership challenge was almost fronted at the last minute as it was temporarily believed to be unconstitutional. Malagasy Thatcher was now back at the hotseat of Kirlawan politics. Chairman of the Conservative Party (3882 - 3910) Malagasy Thatcher gradually drew some powers away from her co-leader, Malthus Mabella, in an effort to regain control of the Party. She returned to the post only to be greeted by a large drop in the seat count, bringing the Party's representation in the General Assembly to its lowest since 3864. A vote of no confidence was attempted against Thatcher and Mabella, but it eventually failed. At this time, the Party was undergoing a massive rethink of its core policies. The Party focused on championing progressive and permissive ideals, a far cry from the days of Alexander Magnum II. Thatcher made the decision to continue with this party program and see it through until results were reaped. In February 3909, a referendum was posed as to whether to combine the positions of Leader, held by Malthus Mabella, and Chairman, held by Malagasy Thatcher. The vote concluded exactly a year later, with a majority vote in favour. As a result of the vote, Malthus Mabella and Malagasy Thatcher agreed to permanently swap positions. Malthus Mabella will oversee the transfer of responsibilities from Chairman to Leader, while Malagasy Thatcher will reprise her old position as Leader. The position of Chairman was formally eradicated in 3911. First Presidential Term (3901 - 3906) She was rewarded handsomely. At the turn of the new century, Malagasy Thatcher was elected to the post of President of Kirlawa, with 53.97% of the vote in the second round. This was the first time a Conservative leader was elected since 3818, when Alexander Magnum won 52.53% of the vote. She now became the President of Kirlawa. A snap election was called two years later. Malagasy Thatcher not only retained her post as President, but increased her vote share to 57.17% in the second round. Moreover, the Conservative Party won a massive 149 seats in the legislature. Malagasy Thatcher was the first Conservative President to have served two consecutive terms, thus achieving one of her long-time goals: to not only become the President, but sustain the role. Eventually, after only two terms as President, Malagasy Thatcher honourably allowed Malthus Mabella, the Leader of the Party, to be the Party's candidate for President in the 3906 election. Even though there were no term limits imposed on the President, Malagasy Thatcher felt that the time was right to pass the baton, as she had already achieved her aim. Although Malthus Mabella did not win the 3906 election, he went on to win the 3907 one. Triple Reign of Thatcher (3910 - 3920) In early 3911, the Conservatives formed a governmental coalition, with them as the leading party. As a result, Malagasy Thatcher, as Leader of the Party, was officially ascended to the post of Prime Minister of Kirlawa. She is the first Conservative to hold that post, and the first Conservative to serve as both President and Prime Minister of Kirlawa. However, this was the best of yet to come. Malagasy Thatcher reached her peak of success in July 3916. The Conservative Party of Kirlawa became the largest party in the Kirlawan legislature for the very first time - amassing a total of 142 seats across the five provinces. Moreover, Malagasy Thatcher, who stood for the post of President in the Presidential elections, won the second round of voting with 59.28% of the popular vote, second only to Alexander Magnum's win of 67.67% in July 3790. Not only is Malagasy Thatcher now the leader of the largest party in the legislature, she is also the concurrent Prime Minister and President of Kirlawa, the first and only Conservative to date to hold such a prestigious post. Malagasy Thatcher has thus achieved the three aims that she had set out many years prior, which led to her prolonging her life in the trough of her life. Thatcher's ratings within the Party shot up tremendously. She received a 87% approval rating among Conservative Party members, 82% among Conservative voters and 25% among the general public in a 3917 opinion poll. She was also given the opportunity to accept a new title of "Emeritus", to symbolise her experience in holding both the post of Chairman and Leader of the Party. Many Conservatives coined this new reign the Triple Reign of Thatcher, although she was ousted from her post as Prime Minister after no more than a year as left-wing parties put together a new coalition. Nonetheless, her ratings continued to flourish and she presided over many key Conservative votes and events. However, now that she has achieved her three goals she set out in life, she felt that her prominence in the Party was coming to an end. With the following elections in 3920, she decided to take a back seat in both party and Kirlawan politics, as she let a new generation of leaders take over the mould. Decentralisation and Delegation (3920 - 3982) In January 3920, Malagasy Thatcher lost her incumbent bid as President with a margin of only 3%. She did not for the office of President for over seventy years, instead leaving the contests to her successors Malthus Mabella and Harold Lee. After Malagasy Thatcher's tenures as President and Prime Minister were over, she took a back seat in the running of her party, instead opting for a more hands-free, membership-driven approach. This resulted in a period of decentralisation in the Party, as power shifted from the executive branch to members and franchises. Malagasy Thatcher herself withdrew from several other executive positions in the coming years. Third Premiership (3982 - 4036) For fifty years, Thatcher refused to participate in shadow cabinet meetings of the Party. It was only in the 3970s, when the Conservatives were invited to form a government, the second time it has ever done so, that Malagasy Thatcher was requested to return to the forefront of Party management and reprise her role as Prime Minister. This would become the longest-serving Conservative government in history, ruling for over 47 years as of the 4031 elections. The party's best overall results came in January 3988, at the behest of an early election called. The Conservatives attained 209 seats, the most out of any party in the General Assembly and the highest it has ever achieved, with a vote share of 29.15%. This marks an increase of 40 seats from the previous election, one of the largest gains for the party ever. This rise was mainly attributed to stunning electoral performance in Uwakah, where the Conservatives won close to 50% of the vote, and attained 73 seats, the highest it has ever gotten in that province. Combined with an existing Conservative Prime Minister and the reelection of the previous Conservative president with the highest vote share ever attained (35%), this is the second time the Conservatives have achieved the "holy trinity" - head of government, head of state, and largest party. Malagasy Thatcher once again found herself in the hotseat of Kirlawan politics. She was now able to pursue her party's goals to withdraw Kirlawa from several legislatively-binding treaties. In March of 3990, the Conservatives, backed up by a majority of members in the General Assembly, successfully withdrew Kirlawa from the Treaty of Diplomatic Administration. This marks the first official withdrawal of a treaty under the Conservatives' accord, and was celebrated as a victory by Malagasy and her colleagues. However, time on her life was running out. In 3992, she announced that she was to reject treatment to extend her life, and that she would "gladly accept death at the throes of my knees". She returned to a biological ageing process by 4000, and would eventually become weak and frail from the lack of artificial genomes that had kept her alive for so long. Her premiership ended in 4036, when all parties, except for the Conservatives, banded together to form a grand coalition in the General Assembly. This marked the end of 52 years of Conservative government, the longest of its kind for the Party. Third Presidency (4029 - 4056) The party's best results to date came in the 4029 elections. For the first time in its electoral history, the Conservatives achieved over 30% of the electoral vote, attaining 223 seats in the General Assembly and becoming the largest Party there. The party achieved blowout victories in Nuchtmark (55.85% of the vote, garnering 81 seats) and Uwakah (45.04% of the vote, garnering 65 seats). Malagasy Thatcher, already in her twilight years, won both the first and second rounds of the Presidential election, thereby becoming yet again President. Alongside her existing role as Prime Minister, she serves in two concurrent positions once again. A snap election was called just two years later. The initial boost given to the Party allowing it to broach the 30%-vote share mark had since faded, and the Conservatives lost 36 seats. Interestingly, the Conservatives held on to the post of the Presidency in a closely-fought Presidential election. The Conservatives achieved 33.93% of the electoral vote in the first round, coming in behind the Kirlawan People's Justice Party candidate who had 35.05% of the vote, but ahead of the Green Party of Kirlawa candidate who had 31.02% of the vote. Despite only a 4% margin separating the first and last candidates in the first round, only the top two candidates moved on to the second round, which handed Malagasy Thatcher the Presidency once again with 64.07% of the vote. Resignation and Death (4056) Her presidential term ended in January 4056, when she came in third place in the presidential election voting, thus eliminating her from the second round of voting. She conceded defeat that day and, in March, announced her resignation as Leader of the Conservative Party of Kirlawa permanently. As of then, she was the longest-serving uninterrupted Leader of the Conservative Party, with only a short period of time where Malthus Mabella was Leader. A leadership election was called in March to decide the next Leader of the party by June 4059. In September 4059, Malagasy Thatcher finally died from old age. She lived for 335 years. She was buried in a public ceremony in her hometown of Indrala, Merkan. Legacy Personal life